You know how you always hear the story about the girl who dreams all her life of her perfect wedding date? The perfect weather, the flowers everything just how they dreamed? Well, big boys are no different. When thinking about the first weekend in October, I dream of cloudy skies, cold weather, rain and wind... And just like the movies, my dream came true!
The opening day weather this year was perfect!!! Cloudy skies and rain!!
I went out this year with my nephew Skyler and my brother Dennis. I haven't made it out to chase ducks for the last few years because of school, so I was really excited! I used to think I was a pretty hardcore duck hunter, but I am nothing compared to Skyler!! That maniac spent the night out in the marsh to hold our spot! I helped him and his buddies little brother, Clain, carry out some of the dekes the night before, and Sky and Clain stayed the night. Crazy buggers, but I'm glad they held our spots! There were a lot of guys there early, but so were the ducks!!
I wish I could have gotten a better picture of the sky.. Dennis and I got out to the swamp about 5:30 and were anxious for first light. When it started getting light, the excitement began! We had hundreds of ducks flying all around us and skimming our setup. It was awesome! On opening day shooting starts at 8:00... As always, someone who thinks they are better than the rest took a shot at 7:40.. That is when the sky changed color. From the south, a black cloud of quacking wings rose up and came our way. I have never seen so many birds. There were THOUSANDS of them!! I loaded my gun and got reminded by sky that it was way too early. As the cloud approached, the lightning came with it. The swamp was filled with the booms of shotguns. We were the idiots who did the right thing and waited till 8:00. The big clouds of ducks had left, but we still had plenty of shooting.
The birds were flying into us, but most of them flew out just fine! I could have limited out, but those buggers are fast!! I ended up only getting a teal and a gadwal. It was so fun to be out there though!!
Skyler is an old pro and ended up getting 6 birds. This was Dennis's first real day duck hunting. He went with me for an hour a few years ago, but that doesn't really count. Even though he hasn't had much marsh time, it didn't take him long to catch on to things! He grabbed a couple guns and John Wayne'd the buggers!!
This is Dennis' first duck. What a monster!! It was actually an awesome shot! Those teal are the hardest ones to hit and he ended up bagging two of them. Good job Big D!! It was a blast to be out there with Sky and Dennis. Thanks for going with me guys! And thanks for all the work that you put into it Sky! You will be one heck of a guide some day!!
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